Retiring Councillor Kyle Rae is endorsing as his replacement a former aide to mayoral candidate George Smitherman and current policing adviser to the mayor of London, England.

"I have looked at the people in the race and I think the person with the experience we need is Ken Chan," said Rae, who has represented Ward 27 (Toronto Centre-Rosedale) since 1991, in an interview Friday.

"Working with George at the provincial level, Ken got lots of experience with policy and budget issues and before that he was an openly gay police officer, so he knows what civic service is."

Chan, 34, was a Peel police officer from 1999 to 2003, when he went to work for Smitherman, then Ontario's health minister and Toronto Centre MPP, as director of policy and legislative affairs.

In an interview from London, where he is an adviser on community safety and police oversight to Mayor Boris Johnson, Chan said Smitherman asked him to think about running and he made up his mind while home for Christmas.

"I spent a few days in Toronto and just looking at the state of the city, and the increase in TTC fares, I saw that significant improvement needs to be done in terms of fixing city hall and making Toronto a competitive market for business," said Chan, adding he also spoke with Rae on the visit.

Kristyn Wong-Tam, a political activist, art gallery owner and real estate agent who plans to register Monday as a candidate in Ward 27, said the endorsement puts her and the nine other declared challengers at a disadvantage.

Chan "will have a (donor) list and other advantages ... I guess we'll be running hard from behind," said Wong-Tam, who has vowed to bring a "more collaborative" political approach to the ward, which includes the Gay Village and Rosedale.

"Obviously Kyle has served the ward well, but to some degree, it does feel like it is running on autopilot."

Chris Tindal, who ran unsuccessfully for the Green Party in the 2008 federal election, said he's not convinced Rae's endorsement will have any effect, "positive or negative."

"Voters I have talked to, even Rae supporters, say they're looking for new ideas, new energy on council."

Also unfazed was declared candidate Enza Anderson, the flamboyant former mayoral candidate who hopes to make history as the first transsexual on Toronto council.

"The endorsement won't affect the race at all. People will judge me on my platform, that's it," she said.

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